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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Some information is related in really weird ways - it likes to throw you in this world and let you fend for yourself. Some of the stories try to do a lot of heavy lifting and aren't super compelling as a result (kassad snd Lamia especially). Otherwise this book is very solid with great characters and interesting worldbuilding
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Would not be in my top 3 but an enjoyable read - the book is way ahead of its time. It was published in 1989 and the AI stuff seems spot on!
I went into this book not knowing anything and realized it is a set of backstories for the characters in the book while they are on a pilgrimage in the planet Hyperion. The first story is jaw dropping but then it goes downhill from there for me, especially the story of the PoV character at the end (the scholar story in the middle was great though).
Pros:
(1) Stories 1 (Priest's) and 4 (Scholar's) - just muahhh! Story 1 establishes the dark mood of the book and Scholar's story just hits different, especially if you are a parent.
(2) Dan Simmons is able to write in completely different styles for each story, suitable for the characters telling it
(3) The Shrike creature is terrifying!
(3) The world is interesting with factions such as AI, humans, Shrike - although I would have liked more world building in the book - it is just hinted at the world during expositions and how the story is narrated with specific words signifying a whole technology (like 'farcasting' means travelling through space-time)
Cons:
(1) The stories of female characters revolve around male characters - we have seen these multiple times in numerous books/movies
(2) The book just ends - it is like first half of a full book
(3) I did not like the main PoV character, Consul - he is projected as a tough shrewd guy but in the end his story has too many holes, relying on happenstance than him planning things (he was just 'waiting' throughout his life opportunities to drop in his lap). May be that was the point that he did not plan anything but that just threw me off when his story tried to connect all the other arcs (which is usually the case in such anthology type stories and gives me the aha moment, but did not get that here).
(4) It is not an easy read - the prose were a bit too convoluted for me and took some getting used to. I can compare it to Malazan (I Love me some Malazan!) but Malazan is dififcult as it just puts readers in the middle of the story. Here, the writing style felt deliberately complex. The first story is what kept me going.
I went into this book not knowing anything and realized it is a set of backstories for the characters in the book while they are on a pilgrimage in the planet Hyperion. The first story is jaw dropping but then it goes downhill from there for me, especially the story of the PoV character at the end (the scholar story in the middle was great though).
Pros:
(1) Stories 1 (Priest's) and 4 (Scholar's) - just muahhh! Story 1 establishes the dark mood of the book and Scholar's story just hits different, especially if you are a parent.
(2) Dan Simmons is able to write in completely different styles for each story, suitable for the characters telling it
(3) The Shrike creature is terrifying!
(3) The world is interesting with factions such as AI, humans, Shrike - although I would have liked more world building in the book - it is just hinted at the world during expositions and how the story is narrated with specific words signifying a whole technology (like 'farcasting' means travelling through space-time)
Cons:
(1) The stories of female characters revolve around male characters - we have seen these multiple times in numerous books/movies
(2) The book just ends - it is like first half of a full book
(3) I did not like the main PoV character, Consul - he is projected as a tough shrewd guy but in the end his story has too many holes, relying on happenstance than him planning things (he was just 'waiting' throughout his life opportunities to drop in his lap). May be that was the point that he did not plan anything but that just threw me off when his story tried to connect all the other arcs (which is usually the case in such anthology type stories and gives me the aha moment, but did not get that here).
(4) It is not an easy read - the prose were a bit too convoluted for me and took some getting used to. I can compare it to Malazan (I Love me some Malazan!) but Malazan is dififcult as it just puts readers in the middle of the story. Here, the writing style felt deliberately complex. The first story is what kept me going.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sci fi at its best! Beautiful novel with great characters. Brings in different aspects of the genre through each pilgrim’s story.